The recent anti-social content on the list including threats and support of harassment needs to stop immediately. The CentOS Board will work with the list admins to enforce moderation and if needed removal and bans from the list should people continue this behaviour. This is a large, diverse, and respected community and none of us should need to tolerate any form of uncivilised behaviour, such as harassment and threats.

The topic of harassment and online threats has been at the top of mind lately, and in light of the conversation we would like to make it clear that the CentOS Project is not a place for abuse or hostility. There is no excuse for this behaviour, no matter what the intention.

Discouraging and banning anti-social behaviour in the CentOS Project has been part of an ongoing effort for a while, and now we feel it’s time to come forward with a clear statement.

As with any open community, we have disagreements on technical matters. It’s part of the natural exchanges needed for a vibrant community, but we must keep the discussions civil. Have consideration and respect for other people.

The power of an open source project is in the community. If the community gets broken, the project loses its fundamental reason-for-being. Code alone does not make open source, and community is made through people treating each other with respect.

* Do not make personal attacks
* Do not threaten people
* Do not harass people
* Do debate ideas on the merits of the idea alone
* Do help each other keep a civil tone while remaining civil
* Do treat others with respect

In your communication on CentOS Project forums such as IRC, mailing lists, Web forums, or any other medium, we will not tolerate personal attacks, threats, or harassment of any individual or group. We reserve the right to moderate or ban anyone who violates our guidelines without notice or discussion.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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